Bjork - Medulla

What can you say about Medulla that hasn't already been said? If you're living a media blackout environment, you may not know that this record is Bjork's foray into the realm of the instrument-less. All sounds on this album were recorded with vocals. Which, on paper, sounds like the worst acapella album you could ask for. Fortunately, Bjork was intelligent enough to enlist the help of the greatest vocal instrumentalists out there. Mike Patton (remember the dark vocal insanity Fantomas), beat master Rahzel, some Japanese guy that you've never heard of who is apparently absolutely nuts, and The Icelandic Choir. Off the bat, it's obvious that this is not your average record. This is experimental without being unlistenable. It is both ambitious and almost impossible to pull off. The fact that Elektra (or Atlantic or WEA or whatever you want to call it) actually went ahead with putting this out seriously reveals the artistic power of Bjork. And, really, that's what this album is. Artistic. Someone decided to actually let an artist grow within their own space and try their own things, regardless of the outcome. Fortunately in this case, the results are pretty much beautiful. "Vökuró," "Show Me Forgiveness," "Öll Birtan," "Submarine," "Desired Constellation," "Sonnets / Unrealities," and "Miðvikudags" are very withdrawn, filled with that sad, desperate sweetness that only Bjork is able to evoke and take up the majority of the album. "Where Is The Line,""Who Is It," "Oceania,""Mouth's Cradle," and "Triumph of a Heart" are what you would call your 'jams' on the disc, as they have the crazy vocalized beats, somewhat unbelievable at times, and actually work to be somewhat upbeat and therefore have a bit more mass appeal. "Ancestors" is just scary. So where does this album really end up? Yes, we can all agree that it's an insanely artistic endeavour, but there is no way anyone could argue that it contains the same appeal as Post, Debut, or even Homogenic. But as Bjork's fanbase continues to grow up, so does she. This album shows a maturing artist branching out into new things, absolutely defying anything stale by relying on past tricks of her repertoire, and creating something both intriguing to the non-fan and precious to the hardcores. If you're a fan of Bjork, you already own this and the 95 different singles that go along with it. If you're not a fan of Bjork, hit up iTunes and snag the hot tracks just so you aren't left completely in the cold. [www.bjork.com]